Under this strategy, the leadership, A - Acquaints with the problems of the employee, B - Bonds with the employee, C – Comprehends their issues, and D – Defends their jobs/ roles. The ABCD approach not only effectively ensures the vote of faith from employees, but it also fosters a deeper relationship between top management and employees

The novel coronavirus pandemic has taught a multitude of lessons to management professionals across the gamut of industries and verticals within. The uniform manner in which the pandemic has impacted the industry has bought into focus an intangible yet one of the most essential assets of any organisation — the human capital.

From this experience which can be said to be the first of its kind, It can be reflected that human capital, in essence, bore the majority of the brunt of the pandemic in the year gone by. The new normal was marked initially by severe Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) shocks. This resulted in a complete turnaround when it comes to how organisations have dealt with the turbulence during this unusual season. As a result, human capital has taken top priority for most organisations.

This exigency is evident in the way the role of HR professionals has transformed in the past few months. Today, the HR team of any organizations is faced with a constant task to ensure work life equilibrium of employees while ensuring their well-being. To that end, certain strategies are getting evolved and implemented in coordination with the top leadership of an organisation. Some of these approaches include rethinking individual performance and/ or organizational result expectations keeping in view the market situation. Pay cuts or such monetary measures have been generally avoided unless so warranted and if exercised they have been more for senior, top levels and for temporary periods. Management outreach has increased as well, with top management taking an ABCD approach to increase employee satisfaction and their morale. Under this strategy, the leadership, A - Acquaints with the problems of the employee, B - Bonds with the employee, C – Comprehends their issues, and D – Defends their jobs/ roles. The ABCD approach not only effectively ensures the vote of faith from employees, but it also fosters a deeper relationship between top management and employees. The employee engagement advances further and crafts a strong sense of wellbeing throughout the organization.

Technology is now at the forefront of ensuring greater levels of connectivity across hierarchies and geographies. Critical organisational milestones and other soft festivities are being lauded virtually to motivate employees and keep their morale high. This is especially relevant at a time when isolation and self-quarantining is being touted as integral to the hybrid/remote workplace model. Many organisations are also utilising this period to build on employee competencies and offer on line learning opportunities across levels. This will help employees not only deliver stronger results but augment their skillset and enhance their professional portfolio as well.

Across industries, there is a renewed focus on strengthening work ethics and employee centric policies. Communication between hierarchies is gaining foothold as an integral function, with the need-to-know model, being transformed into the ‘inform and educate’ model. Regular communication between management and employees is pivotal to not only reducing the element of uncertainty, but also to increase employee engagement and attain organisational goals with a spirit of collaboration and unity.

The PIE (People, Integrity, & Excellence) theory can effectively summarize the core values that organisations should work to preserve at times like these. The theory works as a three pronged approach to ensure efficient business functioning. Caring for People - the stakeholders - inculcating Integrity - i.e. a spirit of honesty, empathy, respect and open mindedness - will eventually deliver the Excellence of execution for the organisation.

Corporate India and HR professionals across industries have undertaken this mission to ensure that these flexible employee-centric policies strengthen performance, re-establish employee loyalty and renew the vote of confidence employees put in their organisation. In the time to come, an inspired and committed workforce, driven by people-first policies, will be the key to success for companies across the spectrum of industries.

(The given article is attributed to Dr. Vijay Deshpande, Advisor (HR), JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. and solely created for BW People Publication)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house